Building trust towards courts. The case of Poland.

Background Trust is an essential component of social life and is present in each of its dimension. Breakdown in trust appears to be at the heart of problems with contemporary public trust have been facing Europe since 2008.... [ view full abstract ]

Background
Trust is an essential component of social life and is present in each of its dimension. Breakdown in trust appears to be at the heart of problems with contemporary public trust have been facing Europe since 2008. Many different stakeholders express a lack of trust toward public sector institutions and services, including courts. Courts carry out important functions in the society. Trust in justice is the belief that the courts can be relied upon to act competently, to employ their authority in ways that are procedurally fair, and to provide equal justice and protection across society.
We are interested in two facets of this problem. First, In view of the current literature on public trust, studies indicate that one of the most important factors creating distrust is lack of accountability (Fard, Rostamy, 2007). Due to power asymmetry, organizations have often been ignorant of different stakeholders in communication. (Dozier & Lauzen, 2000). Second the existence of distrust culture in society is regarded as the actual root of distrust. For this reason, creation of social capital, mutual trust, social norms, and identity are emphasized (Clark and Lee 2001; Kampen et al. 2002). Public organizations should understand their role in building social trust and take actions in this area.

Purposes
The aim of the paper is to discuss issues of building trust through communication. First, we analyse the role of courts in building social trust taking into consideration the regional courts in Poland. we present a literature review and results of empirical research on perception of actions than can be taken by courts among judges and assessment of actions that are taken. Second, as communication is a key method to build trust between courts and stakeholders, we compare perceived expectations of different stakeholders of information areas in relation to the scope of information given. Third, we develop a set of practical implications for practitioners.

Metodology/ approach
The major questions of this research are as follow:
• What type of information is expected by different groups of stakeholders?
• What type of information do courts present to their stakeholders?
• What are the opinions of judges about the role of courts in building trust?
• What actions are taken by courts to build trust?
To answer these questions we have conducted a survey among judges and spokesmen in over 70 Polish courts. To understand expectations of society and different organizations that collaborate with courts, almost 20 interviews were conducted.